Timbre II – Popular idioms

 

                 The timbres of Classical music are often borrowed in Pop literature for effect, but one need only listen to local radio to hear a different, rich panoply of instruments - mostly electronic. Synthesis has truly come of age in the 90s and with the help of other digital technologies there is a real explosion of digital sound. We are now collectively convinced that digital is better (I’m not) and that this sliced and diced “picture” of a continuous wave is indistinguishable from the original analog equivalents. There is no replacement for analog sound and recording only a modern facsimile in accessibility and convenience. In any case, pop bands often use a combination of sources including the electric guitar which has had a cultural life of its own (see the History of Rock and Roll Series).

 

 

I) Pop Bands and Instrumental Timbres

 

                 Typical Combinations

 

·          Classic Rock - 2 guitars [1 lead and 1 rhythm], electric bass and drums + vocalist. E.g. The Who, Led Zeppelin, Styx, Beatles [early]

 

·          Power Rock – same as above with an emphasis on the sustain of the guitar amplifiers used. There are many subcategories. e.g. Journey, Boston

 

·          Big Band - 5 trumpets, 5 ‘bones, 5 saxes and rhythm section [piano, bass and drums] and often a vocalist. e.g. Duke Ellington or Count Basie

 

·          Bluegrass Ensemble (aka. jug band) - banjo, mandolin, steel-string guitar, fiddle, and acoustic double bass. e.g. David Grisman, Bill Monroe

 

·          Folk Band - any of the above instruments can be included but usually a simple vocal acoustic setting with guitar. Credence Clearwater Revival

 

·          HipHop – a certain feeling which involves the rhythmic fabric more than anything. Based on various scratching cultures and rap from the past and present – also has associated dance and fashion culture.

 

·          Jazz Quartet - lead instrument [trumpet, sax or other] piano or guitar, bass and drums. This is a highly variable group. e.g. Thelonius Monk Quartet or Miles Davis’ legendary groups

 

·          Jazz Rock Fusion – elements of both jazz and rock ensembles fused into a popularly palatable form, e.g. Chicago or Blood Sweat and Tears

 

·          Techno/Trance Band - must have synthesis, then drums or more common, drum machine. Any other instrument can be added to this fabric. Orb, Orbital, Bluescreen

 

·          World Beat or African Ethno-Pop - instruments indigenous to the originating country. Usually in the form of a dance music. e.g. King Sunny Ade - Juju and Soukous are AfroPop categories and Peter Gabriel, Salif Keita, Angelique Kidjo, Zap Mama

 

There are many variations on the themes here. They all have a rhythmic and bass component coupled with a lead instrument. Often there is also a harmonic instrument whose role is to fill up the sound. This is by no means a complete list. Classic bands don’t really make it any more but there is always an interest in retro music.

 

 

 

                 B) A Band Concept/Sound:  Garage bands are the start of many prominent bands. They get a certain sound going, a good chemistry of timbres and then... It is vital that they play in local clubs and get a following for success. After that, they “go national”. Timbres play a large role in the definition of a band’s “concept.”

 

 

II) Electric Guitar - is the defining instrument of Rock Music Culture.

 

                 History:  Invented by a blues/jazz guitarist named Les Paul who is on that beer commercial with a young cowboy plucking away. It changed Rock with Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townsend vying for Guitar God Status in the 60s and 70s. Great Guitar Rockers include: Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townsend, Eddie Van Halen et al.

 

How is the sound produced?

 

The strings are stretched over a bridge as in acoustic guitar. There are very low level electronic pick-ups, usually several sets, which are sensitive to the vibration [frequency and amplitude] of the strings above them. They pass this electrical signal to an amplifier which boosts the electronic signal and transduces it to a speaker.

 

                 Various pedals and effects units are usually employed to augment the sound of the instrument: Distortion, Flanging, Delay , Wah-Wah, Feedback etc. They help create a distinctive sound for a guitarist.

 

III) Synthesis

                

Origins/How

 

                                  Bob Moog  invented the first synthesizer in the 60s. It was the size of a room. He used analog oscillators or tone generators and patched the signal to various other electronic modifiers. Eventually the parts were incorporated into smaller and smaller boxes with internal patching. This is usually called additive synthesis.  Computers became a part of the means to modify the sounds.

 

                                  Digital Oscillators [more stable] came in the late 70s and changed the way we synthesize. We used various base waves and modified them. The basic tones were generated by these oscillators and passed through various internal filters and envelopes.

 

An envelope is a staging of a wave through time: Attack, Decay, Sustain and Release or ADSR.  This became the standard of digital synthesis.                        

 

Sampling is a process by which a computer is used to ‘record’ a sound and represent it in playback. The common sampling rate is 44.1 Khz/sec. This is twice the frequency audible to the human ear = the Sampling Theorem. Presumably we cannot hear the edges of the slices they  t t t t t a a a a a k k k k k e e e e.

 

                 MIDI -  Musical Instrument Digital Interface is a way to physically link a controlling computer with a synthesizer. The composer plays a portion of music, it is input to the computer software as a file of ons and offs [digital info] as well as physical location and other parameters of sound. The computer plays it back through MIDI to the synth as an exact duplication of the performance of the composer. S/he can then modify the information:  change the pitch, timing, length and so forth to sculpt a piece. E.g. Cherry pieces - “Drive through Entity”, “Umbele”

 

Technology as collaborator

 

                 There is no doubt that music and music making are now more accessible because of synthesis. It has changed the nature of sound in the process. We accept ‘CD quality’ as a standard of sound. I use sequencers which make my life both easy and hard. Computers must be used as collaborators in what we do. The basic ideas have not changed that much. We still must think of the sounds, pieces and elements. Computers really only help to transfer, realize and shape our dreams!